I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 160: Shen Yi, Who Mastered Modern Joseki

It wasn’t just Jiang Xiahua and Zhu Xinyuan’s game that drew attention—Xu Zijin and Chang Yan’s match was also being discussed.

However, compared to Jiang Xiahua’s game, there was significantly less conversation surrounding Xu Zijin’s match.

The reason was simple.

Jiang Xiahua’s game was an even battle, while Xu Zijin’s match had been one-sided ever since Chang Yan played a critical move and Chu Minqiao made a mistake in response. From that moment, the game slipped out of their control.

Now, it had become a desperate struggle, with 9-dan Feng Zhixi doing everything he could to find a way to turn the tables. But Chu Minqiao was clearly unable to keep up with his thought process, severely holding him back.

As the midgame progressed, the gap between the two sides didn’t shrink—instead, it widened.

From Yu Shao’s perspective, Xu Zijin’s game was as good as over.

If Chu Minqiao had played alone, she might have lasted longer. In a way, one could argue that Feng Zhixi was the one holding her back.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Feng Zhixi kept pushing for a comeback, playing a series of aggressive moves. However, Chu Minqiao struggled to keep up, making the situation even worse.

Just as Yu Shao had predicted, about twenty minutes later, on Xu Zijin’s board, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Chu Minqiao placed two black stones down and conceded.

"...She resigned."

Seeing this, someone shook their head and sighed.

However, no one in the discussion room mocked her.

That was the nature of the Flame Inheritance Match. While individual skill was important, teamwork and synergy mattered just as much.

This was precisely what made the match so fascinating.

Now, only one game remained: Jiang Xiahua versus Bai Jingchuan.

On the screen, black and white stones continued to fall, their battle growing more intense. Both sides were playing as if this one game would decide everything—life or death, victory or defeat.

The room fell almost completely silent as everyone focused on the board.

An hour later, two black stones landed on the board.

Jiang Xiahua… had conceded.

"I have to admit, that was a fantastic match."

Someone couldn’t help but sigh. "Even though it was played by four people, the moves flowed so smoothly—it was as if it had been played by just two players."

"Yeah, the teamwork was incredible."

The buzz-cut player shook his head. "But Lin Han and Bai Jingchuan had a perfect understanding of each other. Lin Han played several divine moves that I never would have thought of, and yet Bai Jingchuan managed to keep up with his thought process."

"Jiang Xiahua and Zhu Xinyuan had a similar style, but their approaches weren’t completely in sync. You could see that Zhu Xinyuan was accommodating Jiang Xiahua’s style rather than the other way around."

The buzz-cut player chuckled. "For example, that press move by Zhu Xinyuan. Based on what I know about his style, he normally would’ve played at the Flying point instead."

"But isn’t that the essence of the Flame Inheritance Match?"

Someone laughed. "It’s not just about passing the torch—it’s about surpassing the previous generation, not merely following in their footsteps."

"Well, even though he lost, Jiang Xiahua must have learned a lot from this game."

"You sound so philosophical."

The buzz-cut player rolled his eyes. "If I could play exactly like Lin Han, do you think I’d be complaining? Let me ask you—if you could play exactly like Shen Yi, would you want to?"

"Uh…"

The other person hesitated, pretending to think deeply before saying, "Shen Yi was undoubtedly strong, but he lived 150 years ago. He wouldn’t even understand modern joseki. If you replace him with Zhuang Weisheng, then yeah, I’d absolutely want to play like him."

"You’re seriously being picky about this?"

The buzz-cut player sighed. "Okay, what if it was Shen Yi with modern joseki knowledge?"

"Then of course I’d want that!"

The other player nodded enthusiastically. "I’d dominate the global Go scene and bring back the golden age of Chinese Go!"

Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but chuckle.

Yu Shao stood up. Now that the match was over, it was time for him to leave.

Jiang Xiahua had invited him here to witness his victory over a 9-dan player… only to end up losing instead.

Thinking about it, Yu Shao found it kind of funny.

That’s why you should never jinx yourself.

"Huh? You’re leaving?"

Noticing Yu Shao getting up, the buzz-cut player asked.

"Yeah."

Yu Shao nodded. "Heading back."

"When’s your Flame Inheritance Match?" The buzz-cut player was curious.

To build anticipation and generate online buzz, the matchups were only announced the night before. So no one knew if Yu Shao’s match was scheduled for tomorrow or later.

"Tomorrow."

"Oh, that soon?"

The buzz-cut player was slightly surprised but quickly nodded with a smile. "Alright, we’ll definitely be watching."

This year’s Flame Inheritance Match had an unprecedented level of attention.

The livestream alone had several million domestic viewers—far exceeding previous years.

Even after today’s matches ended, discussions about them continued online. However, unlike previous years, most of the discussion revolved around Xu Zijin.

Normally, people focused on the male players, but this year was completely different.

First, there was the intrigue surrounding Xu Zijin’s background.

Second, there was discussion about her appearance.

Third, people were speculating about her mentor, Chang Yan.

And lastly, of course, there was talk about her skill.

Chang Yan, as one of the few high-dan female players in modern Go, had suddenly taken on a sole female disciple. This naturally sparked a lot of curiosity.

As a result, even though Bai Jingchuan had defeated Jiang Xiahua, he barely got any attention—overshadowed by Xu Zijin.

At 7:30 PM, the Southern Go Academy finally released the match schedule for the following day.

And as soon as it was revealed, the already fiery buzz surrounding this year’s match exploded even further.

Tomorrow’s key matchup was—

Yu Shao, 1-dan, & Kong Zi, Meijin, vs. Fang Haoxin, 1-dan, & Zhuang Weisheng, 10-dan!

Yu Shao had been the dark horse of the Promotion Tournament, shocking everyone by qualifying as a professional with a perfect record—defeating Zhuang Fei along the way. His rise had already made him one of the most talked-about new professionals.

Meanwhile, Fang Haoxin had been seen as the only real rival to Zhuang Fei before the tournament. But after Zhuang Fei’s unexpected elimination, Fang Haoxin had clawed his way up through the loser’s bracket to earn his rank.

However, the most explosive part of this matchup wasn’t them.

It was their mentors.

Zhuang Weisheng and Kong Zi—one a 10-dan, the other a Meijin—were legendary rivals.

They had played against each other countless times before.

And now, they were facing off again.

Although Zhuang Weisheng and Kong Zi had played each other many times before, this was their first time meeting in the Flame Inheritance Match.

After all, one was from the Southern Region, while the other was from the Northern Region—under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have crossed paths.

This was actually the first time that a high-dan player from the Northern Region had come to the Southern Region to participate in the Flame Inheritance Match!

But the biggest reason the match was causing such a stir was…

Zhuang Weisheng was Zhuang Fei’s father!

The moment this news spread, the internet exploded.

Go fans, casual viewers, and even people who had zero interest in Go all gathered to witness the drama unfold.

Online discussions about tomorrow’s match flooded forums and social media, and even deep into the night, the hype only kept growing.

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Yu Shao took a taxi to the Southern Go Academy again.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, he spotted Jiang Xiahua waiting at the entrance.

Since Yu Shao had come to watch his match yesterday, Jiang Xiahua decided to return the favor today.

"Morning."

Seeing Jiang Xiahua, Yu Shao greeted him casually and walked toward the academy. "I watched your match in the discussion room yesterday. That was a tough loss."

"Alright, alright, drop it."

Jiang Xiahua quickly made a timeout gesture. "I didn’t expect Bai Jingchuan and Lin Han to be that in sync."

Seeing his reaction, Yu Shao found it amusing. "Didn’t you say that no matter the result, the 1-dan players are always the real winners in the Flame Inheritance Match?"

"Yeah, that’s exactly why I didn’t dwell on it too much."

Jiang Xiahua rolled his eyes. He truly hadn’t been too affected by the loss. "By the way, did you check online yesterday? The internet is going crazy about your match today."

"Really?"

Yu Shao shook his head. "I was watching a movie at home, so I didn’t pay attention."

"It’s not just the netizens—my mentor is also really interested in your match today. He’ll probably be watching."

Jiang Xiahua grinned. "And not just him. From what I’ve heard, a lot of professional players are paying attention, too. I have to admit, while winning or losing in the Flame Inheritance Match doesn’t really matter, the entertainment value is off the charts."

"Oh, right."

As they chatted, Jiang Xiahua suddenly remembered something. "I still haven’t told my mentor about the ‘Hand-Cut Method’ for countering the Demon Blade—I should be able to mention it now, right?"

Hearing this, Yu Shao was momentarily speechless.

He could tell that Jiang Xiahua had completely misunderstood—he thought Yu Shao had personally invented some secret technique to counter the infamous Demon Blade sequence.

"Why wouldn’t you be able to?"

Yu Shao thought for a moment and then shook his head, explaining, "Even if you don’t say anything, the flaw in the Demon Blade sequence will become obvious sooner or later. Unless people actively avoid playing it, it’ll only take a couple of games before someone notices something’s off and figures out the solution."

Take Su Yiming, for example.

He sensed something was wrong the very first time he encountered the move.

By the second game, he had already pinpointed the issue.

At the time, he hadn’t thought of using the Hand-Cut Method to analyze it, but that was only a matter of time.

Even if the only recorded instance of the Demon Blade flaw was Yu Shao’s game in the Promotion Tournament, if people analyzed it enough times, someone would eventually figure it out.

If someone treated countering the Demon Blade as some kind of special secret technique, then the moment that key move was played, its mystique would disappear.

It wasn’t a hidden weapon—it was just a mistake that needed correcting.

And the stronger the player, the faster they would realize that the Demon Blade sequence was fundamentally flawed.

This was exactly why Chang Yan had zero concerns about it.

"I never really thought about it that way."

Jiang Xiahua sighed. "But still… we’re talking about the Demon Blade! The idea that a single bad move could completely invalidate all its variations—if this gets out… I can’t even imagine the fallout!"